On this day in 1945, someone climbed not a holy mountain, but into the cockpit of a plane – a machine of war. There had been a lull of a week in the fighting between America and Japan. The Americans had a new secret weapon and they wanted to use it with the maximum psychological effect. On August 6 an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.

China's death toll from typhoon Rammasun has risen to 16 after the strongest storm to hit China in four decades buffeted large areas of 15 southern provinces. The typhoon left at least 89 dead in the Philippines before it swept across the South China Sea to hit China's southern island province of Hainan and nearby areas of Guangdong and Guangxi provinces on Friday and Saturday.

Pope Francis has reportedly spent months drafting his new encyclical on Creation, and respect for the environment. In March, during an audience with superiors from the Franciscan order, the Pope expressed how much this topic concerns him, and asked them for advice.

In the city of Bambari, a group of armed men reportedly attacked dozens of refugees housed in the Saint Joseph Cathedral. Despite conflicting reports, it's estimated that about 20 people died in the attack and about 25 were injured in the Central African Republic.

People should not be treated as pawns on the chessboard of humanity, said Pope Francis last year in a message published August 5 on the theme of refugees. Unfortunately this is what so often happens, as the latest Global Trends report published by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) pointed out. The June 20 report said that there are currently more than 50 million people who have been forced to flee their homes, including around 9 million in Syria alone.